FranticFred

I have also discovered to my cost that if you are using the excellent ProRealtime charts, then make sure that if using a back to back strategy where sometimes you want to hold station on a chart by taking a position in the opposite direction to an existing trade, repeat make sure that the ‘force open’ option is switched on, otherwise you will wipe out your original position with the new opposing position. PRC does not adopt any instruction you put on the standard IG charts so be careful with this strategy. Its an interesting pastime if you do not weaken (or over-risk)

I too have gone through a long learning experience, probably more about myself than the markets, and I was perpetually assuming that the next move in price will be a logical step from A to B. Of late, I am starting to realise, as the previous contributor said, that the newsfeed from most directions is intended to influence the market not inform it, therefore I am more inclined to avoid focussed financial commentators and look for longer term movements and possible signs of a change such as ‘head and shoulders + necklines, double tops or bottoms, dead cat bounce etc. Also, a Gann fan on a 4 hr timeframe & another on a 1 hr timeframe can be useful, as can a Fibonacci fan on these TFs as well. This has helped to move the returns in my favour fairly regularly now, but I have a very long way to go as I am still prone to ‘impulse trading’. Shalom, Salaam, Peace

To my mind there are two basic strategies plus money management. 1. Focus on just one or two shares that have a logical relationship, indices or currency pairs. Not all at once, but just two from the same genre so that you have something to compare with. 2. Discover by observation (not by chucking money at them) what time frame works well with the Guppy Moving Average + Ichimoku (with only the two colour fills; Senkou span A & B in play). If using IG platform, then you can switch out the Tenkan, Kijun and Chikou San). Some indices will lead you a wild goose chase except on very short timeframes 30s or 1minute or the longer time frames, 2 or 3 hrs but you need to observe, observe and observe. SMA 50 and 200 SMA can be useful to get a sense of trend. Think of it like planning a fishing trip. If you do not plan, usually you do not catch, unless you take a young grandchild with you who disobeys all the rules and out-catches you. BUT he is gambling with your fishing gear so he has nothing to lose. Sorry if I started to get wordy.

I have been following with great interest the various comments re your ‘baptism of fire’ over the last few months. From my own personal experience and testing the advice of others, a comment made on another platform that sticks with me very forcefully is: “the only aspiration of the market is to persuade you to pay more for your shares than they are worth and then to buy them back from you at a much lower price”. Whatever the ‘news management’ or any other marketing stratagems used, these are exclusively for the sole purpose of making money for the market at your/my expense. Call me a cynic, but nothing I have seen over the last 4 years convinces me otherwise. True value has its place but it is hard to find and the ‘retail’ (that is us) usually arrives on the scene after the profit bus has already left.

Perhaps this a question that you should ask ProRealtime directly via their website. Then, once logged on, find the Forums or Help, and address your question to Nicholas as he is very well informed on the vagaries of their products working on the IG Platform. Hope that helps